Dance Like Nobody's Watching (Summer Lake 3) (7 page)

She caught her breath and looked up at him. Was he
saying...? The smile playing on his lips told her he was at least
thinking about it.

“I mean like you need the sleep,” he
clarified.

She knew she shouldn't feel so disappointed. “I
do.” They walked on in silence.

For the second night in a row, he stood close
behind her as she unlocked her front door. She let them in and went
through to the kitchen. He followed, but hovered in the doorway.

“Do you want a drink?” she asked, then
tried to stifle a big yawn.

He leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. “I'd
love to, but I think you need to get some sleep.”

She nodded. She really was exhausted, but she
didn't want their time alone together to end so quickly.

“Hug goodnight?” he asked, holding his
arms out to her. She went to him and he wrapped them around her. She
leaned her head against his chest. He felt so good. She chuckled.

“What?” he asked.

“This is our first fully clothed hug.”

He rested his chin on top of her head. “Yeah,
I considered whipping my shirt off again.”

She laughed at that, wishing he had. He brought
his mouth to her ear. “I have to keep it on though, Miss. I
think, tonight, if the shirt went, everything else would soon follow
it.”

She brought her arms up around his neck and looked
deep into his eyes. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She was so
tempted to take him upstairs, right now. Even though she knew it was
wrong. He stroked his fingers all the way up her spine ’til
they caressed the back of her neck. She sighed. If he wanted to, she
would happily go with him, no matter how wrong it might be.

“Miss, if I don't stop now, I'm not going to
be able to.”

She let out a moan as he held her against his
arousal. He was so hard. She was already past the point of being able
to stop. She wanted him so badly. She'd fantasized about this moment
for months. Her phone brought them both back to their senses, the
Star Wars theme tune slicing through the tension that had been
building. Scot's ring tone. Dan smiled and let her go. She rummaged
in her purse.

“Hey, Scotty!”

“Hey, Mom. Sorry it got so late.”

“It doesn't matter. How are you doing? Tell
me all about it?” She watched Dan lean against the doorframe,
crossing his arms. She wasn't sure if it was regret or relief she
felt at the timing of Scot's call. Either way, the most important
thing was that he had called.

“I'm good.” He gave a big yawn into
the phone.

She laughed. “Sounds like it! You going to
tell me about it?”

“Yeah. It's awesome. We made finals, but
they're not ’til tomorrow afternoon. We get the morning to work
on repairs and mods.”

“That's great. Are you excited?”

“Yeah. I'm tired though.” He yawned
again. “You mind if I go now, Mom?”

“Course not. I'm glad you called. Have fun
sunbeam.”

“Mom!”

“Sorry, honey, but no-one can hear me. Good
luck for tomorrow. Enjoy yourself.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Love you, Son.”

“Love you, Mom. G'night.”

“G'night, honey.”

He hung up. At least he'd called and he was happy.
Dan smiled at her. “How's our little champ doing?”

“You know more than I do. That was just the
obligatory, 'I'm good, we're doing well, yawn, yawn, bye!'” She
rolled her eyes. “He called though.”

“You are such a wonderful mother, you know.”

Her heart leapt at that. She tried her best to be,
but she wasn't at all sure she succeeded most of the time. “You
really think so?”

He looked stunned. “I don't think so, I know
so. You can't seriously doubt it?”

“I wonder sometimes. It's not always easy to
know what the right thing is, but I always try to do it.”

“You're the best mother I've ever known.”

That warmed her heart. “Thanks, Dan.”
She had to stifle another yawn.

Dan smiled. “And on that note, I'm going to
go.”

“Go?”

“Yeah. I'm going to sleep in the RV.”

“You don't need to do that.”

“I do, Miss. I think I just proved I can't
be trusted. Nothing but Scot could have stopped me just now.”

Missy nodded. She felt the same. If Dan slept in
the guest room, she didn't think she'd be able to stay in her own
bed. She wanted another hug, but as she stepped towards him, he shook
his head. “I can't do it, Miss. If I hug you now, it'll be game
over. I'll see you in the morning.”

She followed him to the door. He stepped outside
and walked to the corner of the house before he turned around. He
cocked his head to one side and blew her a kiss. “Good night,
Miss. It'll be worth the wait.”

She blew him a kiss back and watched him disappear
down the side of the house. She stood there, half tempted to go after
him. She jumped when his head popped back around the corner. He
grinned. “Go get some sleep, beautiful. And do us a favor?”

“What's that?”

“Make sure you lock all the doors...and
windows!”

She laughed as he disappeared again. She went back
inside and only hesitated a moment before locking the door behind
her. He was right. It would be worth the wait. She'd waited this
long. Though when they would ever have the house to themselves again,
she didn't know. She yawned as she made her way up the stairs. She
wouldn't have to worry about lying awake thinking about what they
could be doing. She needed sleep too badly. She got ready for bed and
was asleep minutes after her head hit the pillow.

***

Dan fired up his computer. He needed to distract
himself. All these feelings—physical and emotional—were
driving him crazy. All he could think about was Missy. Missy
laughing. Missy calling him hero. The longing in her eyes when he'd
talked about getting her to bed! All he could feel was Missy. Her
little arm around his waist as they'd walked home. Her hand on his
chest as they'd danced. The length of her body pressed against him in
the kitchen just now. He'd wanted to bury his face in her hair when
he'd whispered in her ear. He'd wanted to bury himself deep inside
her when he'd felt her breasts crushed against his chest. He wanted
her so badly it hurt. It hurt in his chest and it hurt in his
pants—he had a raging hard-on. It would have been so easy to
give in. Even after she got off the phone with Scot. They could have
been back to the point of no return in minutes. But it would've been
wrong. He didn't feel he owed Olivia his loyalty. Hell, he was fairly
certain she hadn't shown him any. Nevertheless, he had his own sense
of honor. He didn't want to taint what he had with Missy by starting
out like that either. Like he'd told her, it'd be worth the wait.

For now though, he needed to lose himself in his
code. While he waited for the program to load, he set the alarm on
his watch. When it went off he would go to bed and get some sleep. He
didn't want to work all night and then sleep all day. He wanted to be
awake tomorrow, with Missy home alone.

***

The sun almost blinded him when he parted the
shades to peek out. He scrunched up his eyes, then slowly opened
them, adjusting to the bright light. He peered at the house. The
kitchen curtains were open. Good. He took a shower in record time and
pulled on his shorts. He rifled through the drawers. He needed to
bring more clothes up here—or wash some. He grinned when he
found one of his workout shirts. Hey, he'd worked hard to get in the
shape he was in now, why not? He pulled it on and looked in the
mirror. It looked good. He shook his head, wondering what the jocks
from high school would think if they could see him now. He didn't
really care though. He was more interested in what Missy might think.
He left the RV and walked through the back yard. He could see her in
the kitchen. Her hair was mostly up in a ponytail. She wore a short,
blue robe, belted at the waist and clinging to her round backside.
Maybe this was a bad idea? He already had the beginnings of a major
hard-on. Before he could change his mind, she turned and saw him. The
bulge in his shorts grew bigger as she ran her eyes over him. Seemed
she liked his choice of shirt.

She waved and pointed to the door. He hurried
around and drew in a sharp breath when she opened it. If the robe
clung to her backside, it did even better with her full breasts,
showcasing her cleavage and doing nothing to disguise the fact that
either she was cold or she was quite pleased to see him too. He only
realized he was staring when he heard her laugh.

“G'morning, hero. And by the way? I'm up
here!”

Oh, no!
He bit on his lip as he raised his
eyes to meet hers. “I'm sorry, Miss. I....”

She laughed again. She didn't seem angry at all.
“No, problem, honey. I take it as a compliment, not an insult.”

He grinned, relieved. “Oh, it's definitely a
compliment. They're....”

She cut him off. “Alright! Don't push it.
Come on in and have some coffee. But, when you speak, just remember,
up here.” She pointed at her eyes with a grin.

She was amazing! So easy going. He followed her
into the kitchen and sat at the table. He couldn't help but admire
her ass while she poured two mugs of coffee. She put one in front of
him and sat down.

“I didn't expect to see you up and about
this early.”

He grinned. “I didn't sleep too well.”

“Me neither.”

“Aw, Miss. You needed to.”

“Tell me about it. But someone left me
wanting and I kept having all these dreams.” The look on her
face was half teasing, half serious.

“Want to tell me about them?” He
raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee. He'd love to hear
about her dreams.

“No chance!” She grinned. “Maybe
next weekend.”

He wished they could fast forward to next weekend.
Olivia would be history by then. “Fair enough.”

She sipped her coffee, looking at him over the rim
of her mug. “What are you doing today?”

“Not much. I'm just sticking around to see
Scot when he gets back.” And hoping to spend some more time
with Missy. And delaying seeing Olivia—he wasn't looking
forward to that. “I was wonder if you want to hang out? I was
going to go to the store for the papers and get some breakfast at the
resort. If you want, you could come, or I could bring them back
here?”

“You'd do that?” She looked thrilled.

He knew she liked to read the Sunday morning
papers and usually made a big breakfast whenever they didn't eat at
the restaurant. “Course I will.”

“Oh, Dan! You really are my hero. I was
thinking I'd give it a miss this morning. I just need to laze around
here and do nothing, not even go into town.”

He grinned. “Then why don't you do that? Put
your feet up and I'll go get us papers and breakfast.” He stood
up and she joined him, throwing her arms around his neck. Oh, man! He
couldn't help it. He buried his face in her hair. She smelled like
the beach and sunshine. She felt soft and warm through the silky
robe. He ran his hands down her back ’til they closed around
her ass cheeks. They felt just as good as they looked, round and
firm. He ground his hips into her and heard her sigh. He needed
to.... No! He shouldn't. He lifted his head. She looked up at him,
her breath coming fast as she clung to his shoulders. It was obvious
she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Disappointment spread across
her face when he brought his hands back up to her waist.

“We shouldn't, should we?”

He shook his head sadly. “We could, but we'd
regret it, and I'd hate that.”

She nodded and stepped away from him. “Me
too.” She seemed to sway, then braced herself against the wall.
He was back at her side in an instant.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“I think so.”

He led her back to her chair and she sat down. She
gave him a weak smile. “You made me all dizzy.”

He frowned. “I don't think it was me. You
look pale. Do you feel okay? Should I get a doctor?”

“No, honey. It's nothing. I'm fine now. You
know sometimes how it feels when you stand up too quick? It was just
like that.”

“Are you sure? Can I get you anything?”

She smiled. “I'm sure. No need to worry. I'm
fine. The only things I need are the ones you already offered to get,
breakfast and the papers. I just need a good rest and that is what
today is all about.”

Dan wasn't convinced. “Will you be okay if I
go out?”

“Of course I will.”

“How about we at least get you comfortable
on the sofa, instead of sitting here?”

“Look at you! I'd never have guessed you
were the caregiver type.”

“If I'm going to be your hero, I need to get
my act together and figure out how to do this kind of thing.”

He was surprised when she frowned. “You
don't have to figure anything out. I like you just the way you are!”

He didn't know what to say to that, so instead he
asked, “What would you like for breakfast?”

She didn't even pull him up for the abrupt change
of topic. “I'd love a full Boathouse breakfast, the works. That
should give me my strength back.”

Dan laughed. “Do you have hollow legs? I
have no idea how someone your size can eat that huge breakfast
mountain, but you always manage it.”

“It's not hollow legs, I keep it all in the
trunk, as you just noticed.”

He grinned. “In that case, please don't ever
stop eating those huge breakfasts.”

***

Dan jogged down the street. When Jack had sent him
that home gym as a birthday present, he'd thought it was a bit of a
joke. He wasn't exactly the sporty type. But he'd really gotten into
it and he'd started running again too. He'd run cross-country as a
kid and had forgotten how much he enjoyed it. It gave his life
another dimension, which he had to admit, he'd needed. This morning's
run wasn't about staying in shape though. It was about getting back
to Missy as soon as possible. He was concerned. She'd looked so small
and pale when he'd left her on the sofa. Even though she smiled and
reassured him, he'd hated to leave her like that. He would have
driven if he'd had his Jeep here. That was the only drawback to
flying up—it left him without transport.